ONE TO WATCH | Jamal Musiala

Jude Bellingham may have been the big story last summer when he completed his £25 million move to Borussia Dortmund, but the 17-year-old has a fellow young Englishman lurking in his shadow in the Bundesliga: Jamal Musiala. 

Only four months older than Bellingham, Musiala scored on his first start for the England U21s on Tuesday night, as the Young Lions recorded a 5-1 win over Albania.

With Musiala notching two goals in just 82 Bundesliga minutes this season, Playmaker’s Tad Chenery takes a look at the rise of a remarkable prospect.

Who is Musiala?

Born in Stuttgart, Musiala and his family moved to the south-coast of England when the attacking midfielder was only seven-years-old. Upon arrival in the UK, he was almost immediately picked up by Southampton academy where he spent just four months before being scouted and signed by Chelsea.

After progressing through the Blues' academy, Chelsea were disappointed to lose Musiala to Bayern in July last year when he was 16. His development in West London had been notable, as he made his debut for the clubs U18s at the tender age of 15 years, two months and 13 days.

On arrival in Germany, Musiala settled in quickly averaging a goal involvement every 105 minutes while playing for the club's U17s - form that saw him promoted to the senior reserve squad just before the coronavirus pandemic.

At international level, Musiala has also made great strides. At age 13, he represented England at U15 level only to switch allegiance and earn two caps for Germany's Under-16s.

However, Musiala has since returned to the fray for the Three Lions, making appearances for England at U17 and U21 level, a development that will no doubt delight Gareth Southgate. 

©Getty / DeFodi Images

Bavarian record breaker

Since signing for Bayern, Musiala, who doesn’t turn 18 until February, has not been afraid to break a record or two!

In only his second game for Bayern Munich II, who play in 3. Bundesliga - the equivalent of League One in England - the attacking midfielder came off the bench against FSV Zwickau to bag a brace and become the league’s second youngest goal scorer of all time. 

Just two weeks later in June of this year, Musiala came off the bench for the first team against Freiburg to become Bayern’s youngest ever player in the Bundesliga aged 17 years and 115 days old.

The records didn’t stop there though, as he smashed the current Champions League holders' record for youngest-ever goalscorer.

Aged just 17 years and 205 days, the England youth international overtook former Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City legend Roque Santa Cruz when he scored Bayern's final goal in a rampant 8-0 victory over Schalke on the opening day of this season.

Style of play?

As he is still so young, it is hard to identify just what type of player Musiala is, or just how good he can be. Already standing six feet tall, his build is comparable to Dele Alli or Kai Havertz and he has similarities to both in his game.

His versatility means he can play anywhere behind the striker, although he did play as a number nine at youth level, so the scope for the 17-year-old to develop into an all-round forward is broad. 

Not blessed with searing pace, Musiala relies on his tactical awareness and ability to find pockets of spaces to exploit his natural talent on the ball.

©Getty / Simon Stacpoole/Offside

Despite being right footed, he is more than comfortable using both feet, as evidenced by his midweek goal against Albania where he surged in off the flank before bundling home with his left peg.

So far in his fledgling career, Musiala looks to the manor born at elite level - and given his current rate of progress, it's hard to imagine he will be in Bellingham's considerable shadow for much longer.

Musiala looks like another England star in the making 🤩pic.twitter.com/0YdTjkHjZW

— Goal (@goal) November 18, 2020